Chapter 10 #2
Emily finally pried her fingers from her tearstained face. Blair handed her his handkerchief. “Thank you,” she said in the slightest whisper.
“You don’t suppose it might be her?” Blair was confounded by the odds, but stranger things have happened.
Emily shook her head. “I would surely like to know.” They sat in silence for a few moments. “I have the inclination to go to Nottingham tomorrow and try to find her.”
“I believe stalking is a criminal offense.” Blair was trying to keep things light.
“It’s not stalking if I only do it once.” Emily finally managed to force a weak smile.
“I told them to check the Christmas market. Be advised that if you go there today and then follow them tomorrow, it would be construed as stalking.”
Emily wasn’t sure if he was joking. “The market will be mobbed. I have a better chance of finding them in Sherwood Forest.”
“Which is a good possibility since they mentioned that’s where they wanted to go. Your doppelg?nger seemed keen on Robin Hood.”
“Did they mention anything else?” Emily felt as if she was interrogating a witness to a crime.
“She said she will be attending Oxford, which is why they stopped here. She wanted to see what all the rivalry was about.” He chuckled.
Emily looked up at Blair and smiled. “Thanks for being such a good pal.” She clasped her hands around his. “I hope this new wealth of information about me and my family hasn’t changed your mind about New Year’s.”
“Please don’t ask me that again.”
“Right.” Emily nodded. “As long as you don’t think my pop is a bounder.”
“I do not. Nor do I think you’ve lost the plot.” Blair gave her hands a squeeze. “But please tell me there aren’t any more secrets in your family.”
“None that I’m aware of.” Emily was finally coming around.
“What would you like to do?”
“You mean as far as the mystery woman is concerned?”
“I’ve only known you a few months but if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say you’ll be hanging about the rail station when the sun comes up.”
“You don’t suppose they’re driving?” she asked.
“I didn’t get the impression they were that adventurous, but I could be wrong. Clearly.”
“My mum is expecting me for supper tomorrow night.”
“Tell her something’s come up. A student is having a crisis. That usually works when I want to beg out of a situation.”
“Ah. So when you tell me something’s come up that means you’re worming your way out of a plan?” she teased.
“When it comes to you? Nah. I’ll just tell ya straightaway.”
“Good to know,” Emily answered, but her mind was wandering elsewhere. Should I go to the train station at the crack of dawn?
“Do you want me to go with you?” Blair roused her out of her thoughts.
“What?” Emily was stunned by his offer. “Are you serious?”
“Someone needs to keep an eye on you. I can advise you as to your level of stalking, and whether or not it can be considered as such.”
Emily reached over and grabbed him by the shoulders and attempted to give him a hug.
It was quite awkward with their knees in the way, yet they remained in the contortionist pose for several minutes.
Emily finally extricated herself from the odd but comforting hug.
“I don’t suppose they’ll be on the early, early morning trains. ”
“Doubtful. If I were to hazard a guess, I would think perhaps somewhere between past nine and before eleven. It’s a two-hour ride, so I’d expect they would want to get there while there is ample daylight.”
Emily tugged at her pocket and pulled out her phone. She pulled up the train schedule. “There’s one at nine, and one every hour with one change.”
“Shall we start at eight thirty?” Blair could not have been more supportive.
“Eight thirty it is.” Emily placed her palms on the sides of his face, pulled him in and gave him a big smack on the lips.
“Do I get one for every train?” Blair was being rather cheeky.
“Let’s see what coffee you bring me in the morning before I make a commitment.”
Blair couldn’t help but laugh. Emily was intelligent, interesting, playful, and witty He couldn’t recall being this enthralled with anyone in the past. For some time he thought there was something terribly wrong with him.
His mum accused him of being too fussy, yet she never approved of any of his girlfriends.
Now he was glad she discouraged his previous choices.
Perhaps he was being presumptuous thinking there was a spark between them, but his keen analytic mind ascertained he was spot-on.
Blair walked Emily home and planned to meet early the next morning to begin their stake-out.
Jessica and Ashley returned to their hotel with another slew of shopping bags. “Do you think all of this will survive the trip?” Jessica nodded to the half dozen bags.
“We might have to buy a small rolling bag,” Ashley suggested.
“Brilliant idea,” Jessica replied and laughed. “I have two arms. I think I’ll be able to manage.”
“What time do you want to leave tomorrow? Our room in Nottingham won’t be ready until three,” Ashley said.
“Let’s plan to have a hearty breakfast to shore us up for the tour.”
“Bangers and mash?” Ashley suggested.
“Been wanting to try that,” Jessica answered.
“Then we’ll hunt down a piece of luggage on our way to the train station.”
Ashley plopped on the bed and opened her guidebook. “How about this. We book a tour with ‘Little John’ in Nottingham.”
“Little John?” Jessica chuckled. “I suppose that’s appropriate.”
Ashley continued to read out loud: “The first stop is Nottingham Castle; then to the statue of Robin Hood where the guide talks about the legend.” Ashley rearranged herself and sat upright.
“The next stop is Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, the oldest inn in England, dating back to 1189. Evidently, the word ‘trip’ meant ‘pub’ and legend is that it’s where King Richard the Lionheart met up with his men to form the Third Crusade.
“The guide will talk more about the Crusades on our way to the National Justice Museum and how the medieval law affected the legend of Robin Hood.”
“Sounds like it’s right up your alley.”
“So much so.” Ashley turned around. “It’s a two-hour tour. We can drop our bags at the hotel beforehand.”
“What time does the train arrive and when do the tours begin?”
Ashley consulted the timetable for the trains. “If we take the 10:05 we should arrive at 12:37. Little John’s tour starts at 2:00. That should give us enough time to stop at the hotel and grab some chips.”
“I think I shall always call French fries ‘chips’ from now on,” Jessica said.
“You’d think with all the carbs, people would be much larger than they are here. Must be the air, and all the walking.”
“Just make sure you get enough protein and vegetables.”
“Yes, Mother.” Ashley hesitated, then brought up the subject that neither them had talked about for the past two days. “Then we’re off to Manchester the day after.” She was pensive. “What if we can’t find her?”
“We shall do our best, sweetheart. We’ll go to the last known address. Plan B: If they’re no longer living there, we’ll ask a few neighbors. Perhaps a postman.”
Ashley stood and wrapped her arms around her mother. “You are the best mum in the world.”
“I rather like ‘mum,’” Jessica replied and returned the big hug and then grabbed the bag of remaining chips. “And I also rather like these.” She waved a thick-cut slice of potato in the air.
“Even after chowing down this bag, I am still a bit peckish.” Ashley licked her fingers. “That meat pie was delicious.” She smacked her lips. “I’m not in the mood for a big dinner, but something light.”
“I don’t think they serve ‘light’ here,” Jessica said with a grin.
“Maybe some soup?” Ashley wondered.
“I think I saw a sign outside of a restaurant nearby that said something about homemade pea soup.”
“Perfect!” Ashley replied. “Let me clean up my act.”